Creek Wood girls look to clinch top seed in district tournament after rolling over Lady Cougars and Lewis Co.

On Saturday night, Russell Wilson’s Lady Red Hawks took down cross-county rival Dickson County (69-52) for the first time ever after reaching a stalemate through the first half.

The second-half effort earned praise from Lady Cougar coach Erin Webb, who said it was a “hard loss” for her team.

By that logic, it would be understandable if the Lady Red Hawks started slower than usual against Lewis County on Tuesday, especially considering the emotions of Saturday’s win.

But that’s not the way Russell Wilson’s team plays.

Aided by an early six-point effort from Autumn Burgess, Creek Wood rolled to a 70-36 win over the Lady Panthers.

“I think we found Autumn,” Wilson said. “Had some good looks to her. Kind of a reward for her for all the work she’s been doing. Laura can definitely score the ball. Moving on, we hope we just keep moving around and getting confidence each game.”

Besides Burgess, Creek Wood also got post production from Raegan Taylor and Gracie Mangrum, who notched four and three points, respectively.

They’re not the tallest people, but they’re banging down there. They sure battle and fight and compete.”

“They compliment each other really well. All that mixed into a big pot goes well together. Hopefully we can just keep it together.”

They’re not the tallest people, but they’re banging down there. They sure battle and fight and compete. They compliment each other really well. All that mixed into a big pot goes well together. Hopefully we can just keep it together.”

Brianna Burgess led the Lady Red Hawks with 21 points against Lewis County, and Laura Nichols added 14, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter.

The freshman duo provide just one example of the depth on Creek Wood’s roster, which will be essential this week. Dickson County schools are closed through Friday due to illness across the system, meaning Wilson’s team has been unable to practice until Thursday afternoon.

“I’ve never been one to get out of the routine, so this throws us off the routine,” Wilson said.

Due to the scheduling change, Creek Wood’s next matchup will come on Tuesday at East Hickman. The environment will be difficult according to Wilson, but that’s something his team has dealt with all season.

“We’re road-tested,” he said, adding that summer camps in different locations helped prepare younger players for opposing environments this season

After East Hickman comes next Thursday’s matchup against Fairview, which was moved from this Friday due to the school closings. If the Lady Red Hawks can win one of those two, they will clinch the top spot in the district headed into tournament play.

And that, Wilson said, has been their goal since the “beginning of this season.”

“You hope to be playing pretty good basketball, and right now, we are playing pretty well,” he said. “Everybody’s getting used to each other.

“Hopefully it’s coming together the way you want it to be on the end of the year.”